Heather - a romantic flower commonly found across the moors of Scotland and England.
A Heather: someone people like and sometimes envy – an attractive woman….in teen speak that is! I only found out this after the Heather dress came to be. It is actually named after my great friend, the aptly called Heather, who studied Fashion. As part of the course she designed an outfit;
I saw the modeling shots of it online and remember mostly the beautiful, vibrant, yellow coat that went over the dress. I must have seen the dress too, but briefly. Years later, when I was developing a design for my own dress, I asked Heather to whip up a prototype for me as a pre-sample. Looking at proposed idea, she said “I think I have the right pattern already”. It turned out that my design was uncannily similar to her dress. I frantically went through the inspo/design development steps in my head and I could verily confirm where they all came from but….but…did that design sink into my subconscious and just, pop out again? Was this actually a rip off of Heather’s idea? Or are we two peas in a pod? I don’t know but possibly all of the above! So, umm, thanks Heather!
It is interesting that we are so influenced by things that we don’t think we have even seen or experienced. I suppose that is how the subconscious mind works and – unfortunately- advertising. Being original is harder than ever! And even if you think you are, just have a look online and you will usually find your idea! It is not necessarily a bad thing though, being influenced by other people and ideas is part of the creative process I think. Like the impressionists for instance, who were all feeding off each other and transforming their art into a movement of fresh representations and styles. Music, art, fashion, and culture, even scientific ideas which build on previous knowledge: it’s mostly derivative. What do you think?